Page 65 of Longing for Liberty
“…the trucks?” Amos was saying. “Just how many bodies are we talking about?”
“I don’t know,” said Walinger’s scratchy voice. “Twenty-something. Twenty-nine.”
“Twenty-nine?” Amos nearly shouted. “And you don’t think we should step in? Give them some magical herbal pills and the pink liquid for the kids?”
“This is God’s will, Fitzy.”
“This is my future State Force,Wally,” Amos shot back.
“All right, that’s enough.” Roan sounded like a bored frat boy. “You’re worse than a couple of nagging women. Listen. We’re going to let this one run its course, and I’ll find a way to spin it. But if it shows up in another neighborhood, we’ll nip it quickly. Deal?”
Amos let out an annoyed breath and Walinger said, “Deal.”
Roan added, “Do we even know what it is?”
“I’m told it’s Pneumonic Plague,” Walinger said, sending a chill through me.
“Plague?” Roan asked in an amused voice. “Like an actual plague? Damn, maybe theydiddo something to piss off God.” He laughed, making Walinger chuckle, and I quickly closed the door, holding the edge with both hands to keep it silent despite my shaking hands.
I ran back to the bed, my mind spinning as I jumped into the wet spot, now cold, yanking the covers over my body and lying down with my back to the door while I thought.
Get control of yourself.
Breathe. Breathe slower.
You’re okay.
I desperately needed to disassociate, to feel nothing, but their conversation…holy shit. What had Amos said? About giving them herbal supplements and something pink for the kids? Could that be the chalky liquid penicillin? These assholes really did have access to life-saving medications! And they knew damn well germs were real. It was beyond cruel! I felt nauseous.
Calm down.
Calm down.
Calm down.
Did Amos really only want to save them because they were his future army? Or was that an excuse because he didn’t want to admit he cared about people dying? What did it matter, one way or the other, if he wasn’t going to fight it? He let himself be outnumbered, and it could kill off that whole neighborhood of hundreds! Twenty-nine dead already.
I don’t know how long I stayed there like that before I heard his footsteps coming down the hall again, and panic crept over me, making me flush with scalding heat. I gasped when the door opened, and seconds later felt Amos’s warm hand rub up and down my arm.
“Liberty?”
I slowly rolled, trying to look sleepy. Amos appeared at ease as he propped himself up on the side of the bed.
“I have to go to a meeting.”
“What time is it?” I started to sit up, but he stopped me with a hand.
“It’s almost three.”
“Three! I slept that long?”
“You clearly needed it.”
I glanced over to see that the plate of food was gone. Amos took my hand and brought my fingers up to his lips as he looked at me.
“Feel free to shower,” he told me. “And I had a toothbrush sent up for you. My meeting is a dinner meeting, so no need to cook tonight.”
I actually knew that from Kathy when I’d gone to get the basket that morning, but I nodded.
